12 Cool Augmented Reality Apps

Augmented Reality apps are really cool, letting your camera-enabled iOS device add a layer of information to what its camera is seeing. We picked through the multitude of AR apps in the App Store to find 12 that are worthwhile downloads.

Click any image in the gallery to see it bigger -- (most) links in the captions go to the iTunes App Store. And remember to check each app's requirements, because many augmented reality apps require both a camera and a compass in your device. Know any we missed? Let us hear it in the comments!

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12 Cool Augmented Reality Apps

Free iPhone app Layar's ever-evolving apps-within-an-app concept can be accused of doing too much (especially when a particular plug-in brings the whole thing to crashing halt), but its ambitious augmented reality platform will turn your world into whatever you want it to be: restaurant locator, Groupon tracker, matchmaker, architecture expert, even a walkable maze. Let’s see Maps do that.

Whether you’re walking arm in arm with your sweetie or vegging out on the couch together, you can give her the moon and the stars -- literally. Just hold your iPhone or iPad 2 to the heavens and StarWalk ($2.99 iPhone, $4.99 iPad) will help you decipher every last dot with stunning, crisp visuals and vivid constellation formations. It’s like holding a planetarium in your hands -- and ditching the Jefferson Starship soundtrack.

Free iPhone app Virtual MINI's customizing options pale in comparison to the (non-augmented-reality) MINI Link app, but few things are cooler than seeing what your room would look like with a MINI Cooper on a freshly made bed.

It’s not just that the everything auction site has filtered away the junk to bring you the best deals from the hottest labels; where free iPhone app eBay Fashion gets really cool is in its See It On feature, which actually lets you “try on” your purchase before committing to buy. Though crudely drawn and currently limited to sunglasses, eBay’s virtual dressing room is nonetheless a surprisingly good judge of character.

Leave it the Black Eyed Peas to turn the latest mobile craze into an interactive tool for self promotion. Just point your iPhone or iPad running 99-cent universal app BEP360, and watch as a three-dimensional Baby Pea of will.i.am or Fergie dances, sings and tweets its way across the screen.

99-cent iPhone app Duck Hunt AR is everything you love about Duck Hunt for the NES (without the Zapper, of course). But this time the bland blue sky is replaced with your living room, kitchen or cubicle. The controls are a little tricky and the camerawork and visuals can get a bit distracting, but what other game lets you pick off 8-bit ducks flying around your house?

The classic augmented reality game -- and the only iPhone app that actually helps with your eye-foot coordination -- ARSoccer ($1.99) puts a tiny soccer ball inside your iPhone so you can practice your juggling (as long as you have a very light surface on which to work). True roundball fans will probably catch on quicker than we did, but we have to assume they’ll look just as silly kicking wildly at nothing.

Foodies all over the world already know Yelp is the go-to website for finding hidden culinary gems, but its free, universal app has taken things one step further. With its nifty no-longer-hidden Monocle feature, Yelp layers restaurant reviews on top of the landscape while you walk, helping you not only find a spot to eat in a strange city but also avoid less-than-appetizing fare.

If you’ve ever wondered the name of that mountain on the horizon or exactly how tall it is, $2.99 iPhone app Peaks needs a spot in your Augmented Reality folder. Like a Google map, Peaks provides a wealth of information about all things elevation: latitude and longitude, distance, altitude, even directions to the base. And if you want to take a photo or send a tweet, it’s got you covered there, too.

If Jerry, George, Elaine or Kramer would’ve had 99-cent Parking Aid installed on one of their iPhones, Seinfeld fans would’ve missed out on one of the illustrious show’s greatest moments. And we’d never have learned the meaning of uromysitisis.

Augmented reality certainly makes stargazing and duck hunting fun, but its true value is in the applications that get you through your day, and few are better for commuters than the multitude of subway station finders and schedule trackers that populate the iOS store. T riders shuttling around Boston are still waiting for an official MBTA app, but in the meantime, NextTrain T Tracker's augmented maps are wicked pissah.

Like Yelp, Where To? Discover Your Next Destination will direct you to the nearest restaurant (filtered by cuisine), but it doesn’t stop there. The nearest supermarkets, banks, theaters, amusement parks, hospitals, hotels, and schools are all in your line of vision, laid over your iPhone’ camera’s live shot. It’s like having a concierge in your pocket -- without the uncomfortable you-didn’t-tip-me cough.